2001 Rosemount Estate Grenache Shiraz, Australia ($9 anywhere). Really don't know why there are no exclusive posts on this wine on the board. This has to be one of the best QPR wines in the whole world. We remember picking up a couple of bottles along with a few other things at Cappy's after landing in Boston after a couple of weeks abroad a couple of years ago. Checked into a motel in Exeter, NH and finished a bottle before the kids showed up.

Tonight we popped a bottle of '01 for a quick dinner with beef kielbasa and spinach before having to go out tonight. Couldn't have had a better wine with it. Always keep some on hand.

I'm drinking this wine at the moment, and have to agree its a great value. I find that a lot of the Grenache mixes are a little overpowered with an overipe or jammy fruit bouquet, this however has a perfect balance between fruit and spiciness. Very nice, and hard to beat for $6.

Eureka! I found this one in the catalogue published by the LDB (government run liquor distribution organization here in BC) and thought I had made a real discovery! But sadly, it is also listed in this month's "best buy" list on the LDB web site ! Which means that everyone and his dog will be out looking for it ... Oh well, I can but try ..... Fortunately they have a telephone number you can call to find stores that will have some in stock. But I may have to go to East God-knows-where to find it.

I had my wife's and dad's birthday cookout tonight. We had grilled chicken tenderloins that I had marinated in four different marinades (red hot pepper, aisian, mesquite w/lime, and one other that had lime),corn on the cobb, baked beans, and a manderian orange salad w/pecans.
I had picked up a bottle of Sauvion Rose' De Loire 2001, that I thought would go well with this meal. But I had opened a bottle of the Rosemount G/S to have with an appitiser of chips and salsa. Every one loved the Rosemount. And I had to open my last bottle of this juice to go with the meal. Although I did squirl back enough for a glass tomorrow.

Nice surprising factoid about the G/S and the Rosemount Shiraz/Cab: They both do very well chilled. I've used both at cookouts every summer for the past seven years and people are amazed that a hearty red like that doesn't slam shut like a manhole cover when chilled.

One wine I never see mentioned in Aussie posts is the original heavyweight Aussie Grenache: The Yalumba Bushvine, a truly gorgeous, full-blown Grenache that has wons cirtical acclaim for over a decade and still only costs about $14 retail! It's a fabulous wine, with grace and complexity and pretty accessible.

I've not yet found a 100% grenache that I like including grenache rose. However I did enjoy a Gigondas that combined syrah and grenache. For me (not everyone) the grenache varietal is improved by being blended.

Try the Domaine de la Janasse Chateauneuf du Pape "Le Chaupin", their single-vinayard CdP. If you've never had it, I can hardly overstate what a truly Elegant wine it is. 100% Grenache, with a astoundingly sweet minerality, great fruit, and a couple of grassy/herbal notes that pull it together. I had never liked any French Grenache until that and was just blown away by it.